18 varieties of garlic…

Only time will tell if our garlic planting from our DIRT GROUP Practitioner Certification Training will be successful. The other day while I was talking with some of the youth with whom we work. We were discussing what Rosemary looks like, (my favorite herb) and if any of them could tell me what it looked like based on the written description in a no picture, black & white seed catalog. No one could. I then showed them a colorful seed catalog with pictures of Rosemary and they were surprised.

None of them could see what Rosemary would look like after we planted and grew it, and realized they kind of have to take our word for it, until they can compare and recognize this herb from the pictures. Treatment is a lot like that when we tell our kiddos and their caregivers what it will be like and about all the different skills they will learn, practice, & master through their participation in DIRT GROUP. They can’t really see it at first, but as they ‘grow to learn, they learn to grow’ and what was once like a dim image in a mirror or a black and white picture of just words–becomes a clear colorful picture of themselves brimming with competency and capacity.

My coworkers took this metaphor even further. Often times, adults/parents/caregivers,etc. expect to see immediate results when their kids are in treatment–kind of like taking your car to the shop to get fixed…the example my coworkers gave our kiddos was related to planting seeds and garlic. Kids can be in treatment for awhile and adults stand around and watch and say “I don’t see any progress happening”. When you plant seeds or garlic, or potatoes, or whatever–there’s a lot going on under the dirt and in the dirt that we can’t see from our vantage point above the ground. Kind of like treatment…then one day–there it is–pushing up and through the earth toward the sun. It’s barely there–but it’s coming, and it’s going to need help from rain, sun, heat, and us helping to care for and nurture these small, fragile seedlings. Progress takes time, time to prepare the soil, plant the seeds, and nurture them. So many times, as adults we crush this growth under our feet if we are not paying attention to it, like Rosemary, it takes so long to germinate–we might give up too soon or it might pop up amidst the weeds growing there and we don’t pay attention and remain diligent in helping them rise above the weeds…